Zhou Danyou’s Tomb

Zhou Danyou’s Tomb

Zhou Danyou’s Tomb is a cultural heritage protection unit of Fenghua District.

Zhou Danyou’s Tomb, located on Jinping Mountain in the downtown area of Fenghua, was designated as part of the third batch of municipal-level cultural heritage protection units by the Fenghua Municipal People's Government in February 1987.

Zhou Danyou (1882–1919) was a native of downtown Fenghua. His formal name was Rixuan, and his art name was Danyou. He attended Fenglu Academy with Chiang Kai-shek and they became sworn brothers. In 1906, he traveled to Japan to study at the Tokyo Police Supervisory School, where he met Chen Qimei from Wuxing. Through Chen’s introduction, Zhou Danyou became acquainted with revolutionary figures such as Sun Yat-sen, Huang Xing, and Liao Zhongkai. Later, through Zhou’s recommendation, Chiang Kai-shek also met Sun Yat-sen and joined the Tongmenghui (Chinese Revolutionary Alliance). During the Xinhai Revolution, Zhou worked with Chen Yingqi in Shanghai to plan revolutionary activities, which played a decisive role in securing victory in the southeast. He also participated in the elimination of Yuan Shikai’s henchman Zheng Rucheng, the uprising on the Zhaohé warship, and the Ningbo Independence Movement. In 1918, he was sent by Sun Yat-sen to Sichuan to assist with civil administration and passed away in Chengdu in 1919.

Originally very modest in construction, Zhou Danyou’s Tomb was renovated in 1933 with government funding. A memorial tower and a villa were also built around the tomb. The gravestone, inscribed with the regular script “Tomb of the Late Comrade Zhou Danyou,” was calligraphed by Chiang Kai-shek. The reverse side of the stone bears a biography written by Yang Cangbai, Zhou’s colleague and then Governor of Sichuan. In front of the tomb is an altar platform surrounded by a railing, beneath which lies a semicircular pond, rockeries, and stone bamboo shoots. The tomb was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution but was rebuilt in 1984. The memorial tower, situated to the left of the tomb, stands over four meters tall and is shaped like a sword, featuring exquisite carvings. The base of the tower is inlaid with white marble slabs engraved with inscriptions and literary works by key figures of the Kuomintang, including Dai Jitao, Huang Fu, Shao Yuanchong, and Lu Diping. The villa is located on a slope about 20 meters west of the tomb. It features a width of three bays, a single-eave gable-and-hip roof, and a front terrace. Surrounded by lush pines, the site offers picturesque scenery.